Will,I use quite a bit of plastic of various forms,high density nylon,as seen in the Nylacast range here : http://www.nylacast.com/

Also sometimes use glass filled Nylon and Acetal copolymer. The problem with many plastic applications is the high expansion factor when temperature rises and resonance caused by lack of density compared with steels.......OZ.

Will-D, Getting back to your original posting, I would mention that there is a posting here, where the drill grinder is plastic. Actually, there was one, a lot further back that was just that and crap though it is, my lidl knife sharpener is plastic. The designs might be crap but the principle is sound enough.

Me, well I'm different. I've been messing about with a cheap ,low quality Mig welder and have actually cut some hollow steel section and am welding up a sort of Tinker tool and cutter grinder. the original design was bloody heavy cast iron brackets but cost and one thing and another suggests bolted up and glued mild steel section.

So where does that leave us? First, I think that Mr Hall's design is sort of OK but nothing startling or complete for ordinary tool and cutter grinding. It is no better or worse than one old design in ME that was the forerunner of the fabricated Worden or the cast iron Kennet. I've built both!

Somewhere, I mentioned the Stent which is a baby Clarkson and whilst I built one from castings, I came across a fabricated welded up job in steel sections which, In my opinion makes rings around the quite a few competitors. Again, I like the Brooks which appeared in MEW 16 and 17, years ago and is utilises quite a bit of the arguably complicated Quorn.

Question? Can a Quorn be fabricated? The answer is Yes, an old friend long dead, built one. Can a Quorn be built of plastic parts? I would think so. If you were wary about exotherms, you could do replace the cast iron with a ordinary fibreglass resin- from your local car accessory shop.

Clearly, my knowledge is dated and other alternatives seem possible- but I haven't tried them.

You could 3D print a grinding rest. The choice of plastics is huge. You could even use metal filled plastics, although I am not sure if it will offer any advantage over regular plastic other than being a better heat sink. I am sure it will cope with occasional hobby shop use. Even if it doesn't last, it can prove your design and allow you to refine it before making it in metal.

Grinding Rest in plastic? Certainly a very useful but perhaps expensive way of achieving a goal. I would be trying to make something which normal machining would have difficulty in producing - or be too expensive.

Developing your good idea, why not make a goniostat in 3 D. Hellish difficult to make in metal but able to hone lathe tools to perfection. It's Holzapffel stuff, absolutely brilliant, highly collectable and so useful.

Me, I have thought of one several times but I have a mechanical one in the Quorn. Difficult to make but able to do weird and wonderful things- and would be a brilliant subject for 3D printing

My ideas, others may differ. But a Quorn in 3D printing, 'Just think'?

Well well, stumbling on this thread. I now have to wonder if 3D printing the Quorn was my own idea, or if I saw this thread and the seed got planted ? Anyhow, the idea is currently turning from virtual to reality, we shall see what we have further along the journey.

Logged

Just get doing and make swarf, you can decide what its going to be later.